The Lighthouse of Time
by Stephen M. Collins
Summary: After a lightning storm, the TARDIS is sent to a strange place outside of time.How will The Doctor will escape?
1. Part One

_**The Lighthouse of Time**_

**Disclaimer****:I do not own anything of Doctor Who. Though the lighthouse of time is my own creation.**

He was running,running faster than he was a few minutes ago. But the mud and the puddles still slowed him down. To make matters even worst, it was a lighting storm. It was brutal and striking all around the field. Yet, he kept on running. This man had no fear of dying,but, he knew he didn't want it to be today. He spotted a dirt road and hopped the fence to it. About a few yards away he spotted a young girl. About nineteen, wearing a red coat,she had brown hair down to her shoulders.

The man ran past a bike, "Must of been hers." he thought."Hey you!" he shouted to her. The girl turned around, she had green eyes and was absolutely beautiful. "Run!" he shouted at her."Just run!" Without thinking or saying a word the girl just ran. The man caught up with her,they were near a line of trees and a small cottage."Who are you?" she asked. " I'm the Doctor." he said proudly. "But...Doctor Who?" she asked again. "Just the Doctor." he said rushed.

" Just follow me and I'll explain later."

"But I must get home." she said looking toward the left.

"What's your name?" the Doctor asked her.

"Jane." she said calmly.

"I knew Jane once....well.... Sarah Jane was her name. Nice girl,brilliant girl." the Doctor rambled on. "Jane,how would you like to go on a trip?" the Doctor proposed to her. "I'm sorry,Doctor, but I really must get home." she said apologetic. "I can have you back before your missed." he guaranteed and he held out his hand toward her. She looked toward the left, she then looked at the Doctor. He smiled at her twitching his fingers about. She smiled back, took his hand and ran with him.

"How old are you?" the Doctor asked.

"Nineteen." Jane replied. " How old are you?" she asked in return. "Very old." said the Doctor thinking about his very very old age. "In face some would say ancient." Jane laughed at the remark, " Impossible. You don't look ancient." The Doctor replied, " Once your with me Jane, you start to believe in the impossible." Jane then wondered if she really should have gone with the Doctor.

They traveled near the forest line when they came to the great blue box. " What is that?" she asked puzzled. The Doctor leaned on the door, " This is my ship." Thinking about the impossible Jane asked, " But, shouldn't a ship be in the water?" " Some can and some do but my ship doesn't. Remember the word impossible." He then opened the door, "Ladies first."he gestured inside.

Jane waled through the doors amazed and shocked. "It's bigger on the inside!" she gasped. "Yeah,isn't it brilliant?!" the Doctor just as amazed as she was. Jane turned toward the Doctor and asked straightforward, " Are you a magician? Or some sort of wizard?"

"No, not at all,Jane."replied the Doctor who slightly chucked at the notion. " I'm a Time Lord. And this..." he said looking around, " This is the TARDIS!" he proclaimed to her. "Your a...a....Time Lord?" she stuttered, just the idea of a Lord of Time but her uneasy. " Yeah."said the Doctor excited. " It's great isn't it?" Jane walked around arms folded. " You are a Lord of Time?" she asked still very puzzled.

" Well..." he began. "That's my race, my species. I come from a planet of Time Lords. We can travel through of space and time. Sadly, I'm the last one of them. The rest of them and the planet were destroyed in a huge war. So this is a ship,yes,yes but it is a time machine as well." The Doctor then noticed that Jane looked a bit paler than usual. "Jane?" he said walking closer to her. "Is everything alright?" " Time Lord. Time machine." she said speech slurred, her eyes then closed as she fell to the floor. "Jane!" the Doctor shouted as her knelt down to grab her. " Jane,wake up!" He gently slapped her cheek at little to get her to wake up. He then thought for a moment, "This has never happened before...I think." He carried her and sat her down on a chair in the console room.

"Off we go!" he said to himself and to the non-awake Jane. "Doctor." she mumbled. He quickly turned, "That's it!" he said happily. She slowly stood up but the Doctor sat her back down,

" I wouldn't if I were you." he told her as he pulled on lever on the console."Why?"she asked still mumbling really not aware of her surroundings anymore. The TARDIS the suddenly jerked around as the engines churned. "That's why." the Doctor said holding onto the railing. "What's happening?" Jane asked startled and slightly more alert. " We are traveling through time. Moltobene!" shouted the Doctor as he ran around the TARDIS console pressing buttons and turning knobs. Jane sat in amazement watching this man she only knew for a few minutes.

She knew she would never forget this time in her life. The suddenly everything changed. The storm was still brewing and now, it was worst than ever. Lighting struck the top of the TARDIS just as it was dematerializing. "What!?" the Doctor shouted slamming his fists down on the controls. The TARDIS then violently shook and spun around the main room while the Doctor hugged the clear pillar in the TARDIS. "What's happening now,Doctor?" Jane asked shouting at him. "Lightning hit the TARDIS while we were leaving." explained the Doctor. "We are moving in time but were traveling too fast and moving too dangerously." "What's going to happen to us?" Jane asked,she was utterly terrified. The Doctor looker at her,she had fear in her eyes. Just like so many people before her. "I'm sorry."he began almost crying himself. "I'm so sorry." Jane started to cry,the Doctor looked around searching for hope. "Wait!" he said. The Doctor then shimmed over to a spot at the console. It was a small silver button. "That's it. Were going to be alright!" he said in amazement.

"What is it?" Jane asked puzzled but still scared. "This button."he pointed to it and looked straight at her. " It's going to save us. If it still works we'll be fine." "Well what are you waiting for,Doctor?"Press IT!!!"Jane shouted at the top of her lungs. The Doctor just smiled at her and pressed the button. Suddenly, everything around them went black,then to gold,then to pure white. There was no sound and you couldn't hear and see anything. Just pure white. Then they were back, "Did it work?" Jane asked confused. The Doctor looked at the computer monitor, "Oh yes!Yes it did." He swiveled it around and showed it to her. "It's a lighthouse."she said astonished but also trying to keep calm. "Not just any lighthouse." replied the Doctor. "It's the Lighthouse of Time."


	2. Part Two

The Disclaimer is in Part One

**Part Two**

The Doctor opened the TARDIS door, "There's a draft."he complained. He quickly put on his long brown coat. He was wearing his usual blue suit with red tie. "Luckily, I'm wearing my coat." remarked Jane. "What's out there,Doctor?" she asked nervously.

"Why don't we find out."he said then he quickly left the TARDIS. Jane sighed,took a deep breath,then waled fastly outside. The outside area was a deeply remarkable sight. It was like they were walking around the whole universe. Some stars were up close and others were far away. There was no floor beneath them,just stars. "Doctor?" Jane asked. " How are we standing up?"

"I'm just as puzzled as you are,Jane."he told her while sighing. About a mile away was the lighthouse. "But..." the Doctor said with hope. "Hopefully, the Lighthouse will have answers." A little nervous about their surroundings, the Doctor and Jane ran to the lighthouse. The closer they got to it the more detail they could see. It was a normal lighthouse,tall and white. There was a candle burning in a window half way up. At the very top was the only difference. Instead of the usual light there were blue rings pulsating out and circling around the whole area.

Blue light flashed across the Doctor and Jane's faces as it came around. Then suddenly....splash! "Oh,we've hit water!" said the Doctor slightly laughing. Jane sat down, "So we have." she chuckled as well. The lighthouse was on land but around it was a moat. "It's a moat,Doctor." Jane told him. " Like the one's around a castle." "You are exactly right,Jane." the Doctor said in an impressed tone. "But..." he paused. " That means whoever is inside doesn't want us to go in."

* * *

"Banished here." he wrote, "Marooned." he grumbled. He had been here now for forty years. "Or so I think." he thought. The old man coughed and stood up and went up to the top. He took the candle with him so he wouldn't stumble. He was in his late sixties. He was balding, gray hair and he had a bushy gray beard. He looked like an old sea captain. He wore a wool sweater,black pants with suspenders. On the way up the stairs were tally marks. They meant the number of days the man has spent here. Then enclosed in a circle, was a number. Today he stopped just before the top. He got out his pen,dipped it in ink and wrote the number forty and circled it. He coughed once more and went into the room at the top. "Sonar still working." he said. He then scanned the area with his own eyes.

"Everything looks the same." he said before sipping something from a silver flask. He coughed and coughed, then he spat into a tin can. It made a ping sound and the old man smiled. The mystery surrounding this place still puzzled him. Two thing however, he did know. First, it's his job to protect the lighthouse. Second, if anyone comes to the lighthouse, it means they are here to replace him and his job there is over.

* * *

The Doctor and Jane were walking around the moat. "Should we go inside,Doctor?" Jane asked him. "Well Jane..." the Doctor sat down, the area around the moat was grassy. "I don't know how deep the moat is."he began. "And I don't know about you, but I don't want to drown today." Jane laughed and sat down beside him. Even though she had her coat, she was still cold so she sat closer to the Doctor for warmth. "Your a Time Lord. Shouldn't you know what this place is then?"

"I'm sorry, Jane." the Doctor began, " But this place wasn't created by Time Lords."

"Who created it then?" she was worried and puzzled by what the Doctor said. "There is a group of people called The Eternals." he explained to her. " They are immortal and outside of time. They see all and they know all." Jane watched the Doctor stare off into nothingness as he taught her about The Eternals. " And you think there here. They built this place,yeah?" she asked him worried about a possible threat. " They built this place for people who traveled through wormholes on accident."

He stood up frustrated, "But I travel through the time vortex,not wormholes." What is a wormhole?" Jane asked listening carefully to the Doctor's words. "A link,a bridge, a passage to another universe. There are universes on universes, and in between those universes are tiny little gaps known as the void." "So were in the void?" Jane asked still clinging on to every bit of the Doctor's words.

"Yeah, but the lighthouse didn't travel through the wormhole. It's been here." The Doctor paced around searching his 900 year old brain for any of clue,any kind of explanation. " You can tell...well I can tell." he corrected himself. " I can tell by the brick that it's not from any place in this universe. It was made by The Eternals. To harbor passengers who traveled through the wormhole."

Jane's mouth hung open listening intently to the Doctor's lecture. "But, why, how!" he yelled. " How did the TARDIS get here? It's just not possible!" Jane stood up too and paced a bit. "Doctor..."she began, the Doctor shifted his attention toward her. " Has lightning ever struck the TARDIS before?" she asked him just thinking out loud. "Aha! Moltobene!" the Doctor cheered. " That's it! Oh,you are brilliant." he pointed at her. She just looked at him and laughed and smiled.

He grabbed her, picked her up and swung her around. Then out of sheer joy the Doctor gave Jane a tender kiss. It was joy and pure happiness. Jane sensed it and she kissed back just slightly. The Doctor sensed it then pulled back. He coughed nervously and got serious, " When the lightning hit the TARDIS it took us out of the time vortex." he began. "Then just by chance a wormhole was in the area. The TARDIS having no where to go jumped into the wormhole. And that's how we got here."

Jane was amazed at how the Doctor understood that. She then was happy at herself for helping him arrive at that point. "Happy I could help." she smiled. " Oh yes." the Doctor hugged her tight. " You are brilliant, Jane. Just brilliant." "Thank you,Doctor." Jane blushed. "So what do we do?"

"Back to the TARDIS." he began taking her hand and walking away. " I'll have to repair the circuits so we can get back." the Doctor then began to lead Jane to the TARDIS. "Wait!" someone yelled. "Stop right there!" A huge spotlight came upon them. Suddenly, out of nowhere a man was in front of them.

It was the old man from the lighthouse. He put on his glasses and looked at the Doctor and Jane. "Two." he said confused. "Well better late than never. What took you so long?" he asked madly. "What?" asked the Doctor in his usual manner. "Well you've come to relieve me,correct?" he asked the Doctor. "What?" the Doctor said again. "Well of course you must know." the old man laughed, " You've come to serve in the lighthouse.


	3. Part Three

**Part Three **

The Doctor stumbled around for excuses. He could tell the man wasn't from a future century. "Early 1900's." he thought. "Sea captain. From Canada." "How did you get here?" the Doctor asked. "Well I was out in my boat." the old man began. " It was a stormy, winter night. I was going back to port when the wind swept me overboard. I struggled against the waves and the storm. I fainted and when I awoke I was here." " Was there someone here when you arrived?" Jane asked the old captain. "Yes,miss." he replied remembering. " A man with a long flowing gold garment.

" An Eternal." the Doctor mumbled. " He told me I must take care of the lighthouse, I must guard and protect it. He also told me when someone else arrives it is their turn to guard the lighthouse." " What happened to the man after that?" the Doctor asked further questions. The old captain searched his thoughts, " He explained the lighthouse to me and how it works. Then he taught me about the sonar. After that he disappeared like a ghost." The Doctor asked, "Has he came back at all since?" "No never." replied the old captain. "And I've been here four forty years."

The Doctor could tell the captain was desperate to get out. He probably had a family but his first love was the sea. The Doctor was also puzzled about the man being here for forty years. If his theory was correct the lighthouse was outside of time. He then could fix the TARDIS, get back to wherever and bring the captain back home at the right time. If his theory was wrong, bringing back the captain to his time line would in fact put a wound on time. The Doctor then recalled what happened at the church with Rose when she saved her father from his death. He didn't want to do that again.

He then asked the captain a simple question, "Does the sun ever come out?" The captain quickly said back. " No never. It's always night and the stars are always out." "Yes! Good." the Doctor shouted. "What is it?" Jane asked. " Excuse us for a moment." the Doctor pulled Jane aside. " He doesn't realize that he's outside of time." the Doctor started to explain. " He thinks he's been here for forty years. In a way he has but this place has no sense of time. When we take him home it will be like he never left." " Just like you promised me." Jane said thinking of home. She was starting to get a little homesick but still she was enthralled at being on this adventure with the Doctor.

" Yeah exactly." the Doctor replied. " He's been like suspended here.... limbo." The Doctor then put his attention back toward the captain, " We can get you home." The captain was puzzled, "But the man in the robe said he would take me home." the captain replied. The Doctor gave the captain a grave look, " I'm so sorry." he said. " He never meant to take you home."

"What do you mean?" the captain shouted, "He promised!" "It's all a game." the Doctor explained putting his hand on the captain's shoulder, "They meant to keep you here forever."

The captain started to weep, "I'll never see my family again." "No,no,no." the Doctor said with encouragement. "This place...this place isn't a part of time. You've been suspended. I can take you back to your family and they'll never know you've been gone." The captain stared at the Doctor in amazement, "You would do that for me,sir?" he asked. "I will." replied the Doctor confirming the promise. "Thank you,sir,Oh! Thank you so much!" the captain shouted hugging the Doctor. "Now what do we do now,Doctor?" asked Jane. " Back to the TARDIS." the Doctor said leading the way. They ran to get there quickly so the Doctor could get to work.

"I just need to fix a few kinks and switch the converter back to time travel." the Doctor explained. "Time travel?" the captain asked. "Yes!" replied the Doctor. "I can travel through time and space. I'm a Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey." " A spaceman is going to save my life?" the captain said, "My wife is not going to believe this!" "Probably best not to tell her,sir." Jane remarked.

"There's the TARDIS!" the Doctor said pointing to the blue box. "What's that? Is that your "time machine"? The captain said,shivering at just the thought of time travel.

Suddenly, a white light appeared. The Doctor, Jane, and captain all fell down. All they heard was a voice, "Your not leaving just yet,Doctor!"

**The final part will be up soon. Comments are appreciated. :)**


	4. Part Four

**Part Four**

The light dimmed and a man was standing in the TARDIS doorway. He was tall and young and had short blonde hair. "What are you doing in my TARDIS?" the Doctor demanded. Just having a look around."the man replied walking closer to them. "What do you want?"the Doctor asked.

"I've been watching you,Doctor."he began. " Ever since we last saw each other. You do great things,Doctor,brave things. But the fact remains that it will all end very soon."

The Doctor was very puzzled by all the things this Eternal was saying, "What are you saying?" he asked. "He's coming again,Doctor..."the Eternal replied softly, "stronger than he has ever been before. And this time you won't be able to stop it. You will fail,Doctor." "I never fail." the Doctor said defending himself. "You lying." But the Doctor knew he wasn't. "Why are we here?"

"Your here to be warned,Doctor." the Eternal said to him. " I brought you here...it was time to tell you of what is to come. You need to be a little prepared. Soon,Doctor, your song will play it's last note." "And what about him?" asked the Doctor pointing at the sea captain. "Disguise." the Eternal said looking at the old man. Suddenly, was used to be a shabby sea captain was not a tall authority figure in a long white garment made of silk. The Doctor was baffled, all of this was just to a warning for him. " I don't know what to say." the Doctor was lost for words. Jane walked closer to him for support. She already made up her mind that she will stay with him forever.

She wanted to help the Doctor with whatever was coming. "Can we go?" the Doctor asked taking Jane's hand. The First Eternal nodded and moved out of their way. The Doctor and Jane without saying a word walked into the TARDIS together. Everything inside looked good, no damages or changes. Jane sat down as the Doctor worked at the controls. The engines roared as they went back into the time vortex. Several minutes later, they were back to where they started. They walked outside, it was still raining like it was. "OK, so what now?" Jane asked wanting to continue the journey. " I'm sorry." the Doctor told her sympathetically. "You can't come." Jane's heart sunk to the pit of her stomach. "What?! Why?!" she asked raising her voice. "It's too dangerous." he told her.

"But I want to be with you." she said holding onto to him. "Forever." The Doctor held her in his arms. "I want that too."he told her. " But you can't come. Everyone who has ever been with me has gone away." "But if I stay." she told him looking up into his eyes. " I will never leave you."

" It's too much of a risk. I don't want to lose you like I've lost everyone else." the Doctor told her, releasing her from the embrace. "The let me stay." Jane pleaded and started sobbing.

"You'll understand one day." he told her walking back into the TARDIS. He turned back and said to her, "You were brilliant." he smiled warmly at her and closed the TARDIS door.

Jane stood there crying as the TARDIS disappeared. She walked back home, her parents never knew where she had been, just liked the Doctor had promised her. Meanwhile, the Doctor stood by the door keeping his hand on it. He reflected on his recent events and the fond memories he just made.

"Good-bye,Jane." he said aloud as if she was still there. " I'll always remember you." He then continued traveling toward what would be the greatest battle of his existence.


End file.
